City councillors today hit back at a survey which claims Brighton and Hove has some of the worst council services in England.

It is one of the bottom ten councils in a league compiled using figures from the Audit Commission rating housing, environment, transport and planning.

Indicators include repairs to unsafe buildings, road safety, the number of pedestrian crossings and tax collection records.

Each aspect was given a score of one to four and the results combined to give a final ranking.

Brighton and Hove was given a score of 1.36, ranking it equal sixth from the bottom with Barking and Dagenham.

The worst-performing council was Hackney, with a score of 0.95, and the best was Darlington with 2.2.

Councillors dismissed the study, compiled by a Sunday newspaper, as flawed and out of date.

They say councils have to meet hundreds of targets and to choose only 30 gave a skewed result.

Labour leader Ken Bodfish said: "The figures used in the study are old and based on a time when we did have problems with planning and refuse collection.

"Since then we have made a great deal of improvements and although it is not perfect it is much better than it was.

"The study also leaves out areas such as education and social services which is where the bulk of our spending goes."

The study is published just a few days before the Audit Commission publishes its own comprehensive performance assessment of councils.

Conservative leader Brian Oxley said: "The study seems to show there are some issues for the council to consider which we will have to take into account when the Audit Commission report comes out."

Green Party convenor Keith Taylor said problems were caused by the Government not giving enough money to councils who need it.

He said only six English councils will get less central government funding next year than Brighton and Hove.

The city council has had a £14 million cut in Government cash which means council tax could go up by 16.5 per cent next year.

Lib Dem group leader Paul Elgood said: "This is a damming indictment of how this council is run. Improvements must be made in key public service areas.

"Under Labour this council has been unable to get the basics right even through the council tax has rocketed. Residents deserve better."

Earlier this year residents faced misery as rubbish bags piled on to the street following a dispute between union leaders and refuse service managers over Bank Holiday payments.

Brighton and Hove's council tax increased by 14.5 per cent this year, taking the average Band D charge from £922 to £1,073.